India wants prime minister under Lokpal purview

The logic for excluding the prime minister from the ambit of the Lokpal Bill is simple.  As the head of a federal government, a dynamic prime minister will be expected to take quick and critical decisions which will remain outside the public domain for decades due to the Official Secrets Act or due to their sensitive nature. And one must remember that surely not all decisions of governance at the prime minister’s level are based on black and white inputs. There are likely to be decisions which are determined by situational and political compulsions at the time. Besides, decisions about matters relating to the security of the state may often be taken without leaving a trail of physical records like the minutes of a meeting, etc.

In the event of a decision being subjected to scrutiny after a long lapse of time, hindsight and the turn of events may prove that an earlier decision was wrong. It will then be easy to confuse incompetence with deliberate villainy, especially if there are no records or evidence of discussions leading up to the erroneous decision. Such a judgment will be unfair to any prime minister. The fear of such potential scrutiny of complex decisions years after they are made will inhibit fearless decision making. A prime minister excluded from the Lokpal Bill will feel much more unshackled and secure in taking bold decisions quickly.

However, you may ask, what if the incumbent prime minister himself (or herself) turns out to be corrupt. The answer to that is two-fold. Firstly, a system of identification, selection and elevation to the highest position of our national government should in itself be so thorough, impeccable and flawless that only individuals with the very best credentials should reach there. The design and implementation of such a system is obviously outside the purview of the Lokpal Bill, but a progressive and enlightened political party with devoted and forward-looking candidates can surely be trusted to put in place a stringent system of selection. Secondly, if a corrupt individual does become the prime minister, there will be no one to execute rogue orders because everyone else will be covered under the Bill. Thus, a natural system of checks and balances will prevail.
—Girish Deshpande, Pune

One needs to bear in mind that the enactment of the Lokpal Bill is of utmost importance. It does not matter if there is no consensus on all issues. The debate on the inclusion of the prime minister and the chief justice of India need not be resolved right now. Their inclusion can be effected later by an amendment. The enactment would at least ensure that the process of spreading the net to catch a large number of small and big fish is started. Delaying tactics will frustrate the people.
—CS Pathak, Pune

The inclusion of all authorities is a must to make the Lokpal Bill effective. Remember the Bofors pay-off that still is unanswered? An ex-chief justice of India has already been an accused in a big corruption scam. By excluding these people, do we want these offices to be susceptible to corruption?
—Mohan Siroya, Mumbai

The bill should cover all political figures irrespective of their position. In the current scenario, we cannot trust any political leader. Scandals like the 2G spectrum scam lead us to believe that even the prime minister’s office is not free from corruption. It would be nice if the PM agrees to come under the purview of the bill.
—Suresh, Bangalore

The institution of Lokpal should be powerful, people-friendly, free and frank. Communication about the receipt and disposal of complaints should be published in the media. The Lokpal must have powers to probe the activities of MPs, including the prime minister. The higher judiciary should not be under its purview. As the CBI favours the government of the day, it must be merged with the Lokpal. The post of CVC must be abolished.
—S Balasundar, Mumbai

Nuclear weapons are not used but act as deterrents. The Lokpal Bill will have a similar effect on the prime minister and the judiciary. Members committing crimes on the floor of the house are unpardonable. With so much unrest among the people, I fear the government will resort to emergency.
—KP Mehta, Mumbai

The perception that only politicians and government officials are corrupt is unfortunate. Many NGOs, private sector firms, and some other institutions are equally, if not more, corrupt. There should not be any immunity to any person in India. The Lokpal should cover not only the PM’s office but also the judiciary, religious institutions, military establishments, educational institutions, housing corporations, the sports and entertainment industry, journalists, and the private sector. To avoid misuse, the Lokpal should not have the ‘ultimate’ power to penalise and one should be able to challenge his decisions. 
—Rushikesh Dabholkar, Pune

These are my suggestions for the Lokpal Bill committee:
1) There should be 10 members — with the president overlooking a group of three dealing with the Centre, states etc
2) Deal with corruption at the highest levels first ie Rs10 lakh and above
3) The CBI & the CVC should be independent but work under the supervision of the Lokpal without political/government interference
4) There should be a specialised cell for prosecution and to confiscate property
5) It should have powers to supervise all Lokayuktas of the states
6) There should be a proper system to receive complaints though the Internet, mail, NGOs and activists
7) It should be able to carry out suo moto inquiries on the basis of media reports
8) It should have sufficient office space and staff
9) There should be a website for interaction with the public
—Mahendra Parikh, Mumbai

The Lokpal Bill runs the risk of going off course. Let us not deviate from the original plan. The foremost purpose of the bill is to eradicate corruption at all levels. Let us identify the origin of corruption. It lies is greed and power. Where power resides, the temptation for corruption follows. In other words, corruption flows from the top where the power to do all sorts of illegal things is concentrated. Down the line, one only carries out the orders given by the higher-ups, without directly involving the big guns but ensuring their on-the-sly share. It is for these reasons that all must be treated on an equal footing before the law.
—KK Wajge, Mumbai

Over the years, if government agencies (including the PMO) had acted decisively and promptly on various burning issues, the question of bringing in a Lokpal Bill wouldn’t have arisen. It has been the lack of transparency and accountability that has frustrated the public. Any kind of dilly-dallying will only add fuel to the fire.
—Odie Khan, Mumbai

The Lokpal Bill must cover the PMO, the higher judiciary, chiefs of all political parties, state chief ministers, Union ministers, MPs, civil servants and the chairmen of all central government boards and corporations. Often it is these people who indulge in corruption. If they are not covered by the Lokpal Bill, there would no point in creating such an institution.
—ES Munirathnam, Bangalore

Capital punishment is a must for most of the serious acts of corruption. The Lokpal Bill must bring capital punishment as a deterrent against corruption. Our very independence is the culmination of great sacrifices made by our leaders. The political leaders of today appear not to be taking note of this, and that’s why they promote corruption. 
—RP Shahi, Pune

I haven’t come across any convincing argument on why the PM should be excluded from the Lokpal Bill. I am sure there are technicalities which the slimy politicians will harp about in an attempt to derail the bill but, ultimately, we are a democracy. We elect our leaders, and they, as well as the bureaucrats who run the government machinery, are answerable to us, the people. No politician or bureaucrat should be excluded from the Lokpal Bill.
—Mahesh, Bangalore

The proposed Lokpal Bill should have liberal provisions to make it transparent and accountable. For transparency, the bill should be one step ahead of the Right to Information Act. Information should be automatically available to the public, without the public asking for it. To make it accountable, doubting the integrity of government officials and judges should be made the fundamental right of every citizen. This right should be absolute, and citizens’ views should be in the public domain. There should be checks and balances on the Lokpal’s functioning, starting from the time of appointment. There should be provisions for removal of corrupt Lokpal members.
—Deendayal M Lulla, Mumbai

Knowingly or unknowingly, we the citizens of India are responsible for corruption in our country. The top-level scams have simply shifted our attention to high-level politicians. But these politicians are elected by us and are a mere reflection of the entire society. The Lokpal Bill may serve as an effective tool to curb corruption, but the strict implementation of existing laws is important too. India has the lowest implementation rate as far as laws are concerned. Only a responsible, self-disciplined and vigilant society has the moral right to question officials on how they spend the tax payers’ money. Once the society reaches such a level, corruption will automatically reduce.
—Manas Rajendra Marathe, Pune

The Union government has appointed a panel to draft the Lokpal Bill but this is just to buy time so that support received by Anna Hazare may be mitigated to some extent. This was clearly visible when some political parties tried to create controversy over some of the members of the panel. Any political party will not allow the smooth passage of this bill even if it is drafted because most of them are hand-in-glove with the corrupt. Money spent by all political parties during the elections is a proof of this fact. Unless, the voters realise the value of their vote and use it to elect a more responsible government nothing will change.
—AK Karambelkar, Mumbai

Baba Ramdev is politically naive or has a personal agenda. He decided to go on an indefinite fast from June 4 when civil society members are doing their best to bring about a comprehensive Lokpal Bill through deliberations, debates and consensus. Ramdev has objected to the inclusion of the prime minister and the chief justice under the purview of the Lokpal Bill. This defies logic and common sense. Ramdev has stated that democracy will be weakened if the prime minister and chief justice are brought under the purview of the Lokpal Bill. On the contrary, democracy will be strengthened if the bill includes all citizens of the country including the PM and the chief justice.
—KS Sundaram, via email

The prime minister needs to come under the purview of the Lokpal Bill. If the person is honest, s/he should not have any problems. If you have nothing to hide, you would not mind coming under the scrutiny of the bill. Public figures must conduct themselves in the right way. 
—Sush Kocher, Jaipur

I don’t understand the reasons why our central ministers are arguing against the inclusion of the prime minister and the chief justice under the purview of the Lokpal Bill. Is it that they want to continue draining public money through the office of the prime minister? The chief justice of India should definitely be included, considering the acts committed by former chief justice Balakrishnan. The law should be equally applicable to all our countrymen. I am of the firm opinion that nobody should be allowed to be allowed to escape from the reach of the Lokpal Bill.
—Sundareswaran N Kashyap, Mumbai

The PM should come under the purview of the Lokpal Bill but not the higher judiciary. Looking at the track record of the PMO, which has been involved in various cases of corruption since Indira Gandhi’s time, lakhs of crores of rupees looted from the exchequer. It was shocking to note that even after such huge corruption cases were unearthed, the PM was reluctant to probe them. However, various cases have been probed thanks to the efforts of the Supreme Court. Its track record has been almost beyond suspicion in all these years.
—KT Kumar, Mumbai